Negroponte's team is seeking not only a
technological breakthrough but also a teaching breakthrough. They
believe that illiterate kids can, with a little instruction, learn to
use computers on their own and then use the laptops to teach themselves
to read. After that comes math, history—you name it. Alan Kay, a Xerox
Parc veteran, is working with MIT mathematician and educational
theorist Seymour Papert to build software that "watches" each student
and makes suggestions. Papert's "constructionist learning" approach
encourages children to reach conclusions through trial and error.

This breaks known conventions for education and technology, which could have a far greater impact than the commoditization at play.

Negroponte's team is seeking not only a
technological breakthrough but also a teaching breakthrough. They
believe that illiterate kids can, with a little instruction, learn to
use computers on their own and then use the laptops to teach themselves
to read. After that comes math, history—you name it. Alan Kay, a Xerox
Parc veteran, is working with MIT mathematician and educational
theorist Seymour Papert to build software that "watches" each student
and makes suggestions. Papert's "constructionist learning" approach
encourages children to reach conclusions through trial and error.

This breaks known conventions for education and technology, which could have a far greater impact than the commoditization at play.